Developing postgraduate work-based
curriculum using an Intervention Mapping
approach
Context
Master of Mental Health Practice
•
Interprofessional
•
On-line delivery
•
80 credit points
–
Includes 10cp placement (or project for students
already working in the mental health field)
•
Pathway entry
–
undergraduate health degree
–
Graduate Certificate (GPA>5)
Evaluation 2011
•
Mental health employers value work based
placements and assessments
•
Students and employers appreciated
interprofessional learning but feedback indicated
that discipline specific skills and knowledge also
important
•
Program needed to focus on skills as well as
knowledge acquisition
•
Range of students enrolled in program – needed
to provide appropriate learning for students new
to the field as well as experienced practitioners
My problem
•
Develop a course which provided all students
with a work-based experience – focus on skills
•
Students are from a diverse range of
backgrounds, disciplines and work environments
•
Students with no experience complete
‘traditional’ placement
•
Need to provide learning opportunities for the
Intervention Mapping (IM) Approach
•
Bartholomew, Parcel and Kok (1998)
•
Planning framework which outlines steps to
inform the development of an intervention
•
Traditionally utilised in health promotion and
health intervention planning
•
Recent interest in using this approach for training
and education programs
•
Van Rijssen et al. (2011) – communication skills for doctors
•
Wheeler et al. (2013) – continuing education for pharmacists
IM phases
1. Needs assessment
2. Mapping of intervention objectives
3. Theory-based methods and practical
strategies
4. Program design
5. Adoption and implementation plan
6. Evaluation plan
Steps
Tasks
Step 1:
Needs assessment
- Identify problem
- Plan needs assessment
Step 2:
Program objectives
- State expected outcomes
- Specify performance objectives
Step 3:
Theory-based methods and practical strategies
- Review program ideas with stakeholders
- Identify theoretical methods - Translate methods into practical strategies
Step 4:
Program design
- Operationalise strategies into a plan - Develop documentation and
materials - Pilot test
Step 5:
Adoption and
implementation plan
- Identify implementation plan - Implement program
Step 6:
Evaluation plan
- Develop evaluation model and design - Collect evaluation evidence
Evaluation
Step 1: Needs Assessment
1. Stakeholder Reference Group
–
Senior mental health professionals in supervisory roles (n=2)
–
Academic staff from mental health program (n=3)
–
Academic staff from work integrated learning (n=3)
Discussion schedule
Individual outcomes to be identified for each student
Assess growth in capability
Focus on application of skills
Learning goals to be context-specific and aligned to
Step 1: Needs Assessment
2. Scan of the Literature
Practice learning, praxis, work-based learning, WIL
professional practice, health education, expertise,
lifelong learning
•
Current focus on pedagogic potentials of workplaces
(Billet,
2008, 2010, 2011; Morris & Blaney 2010; Smith, 2011)
•
Increasingly, workplace learning is seen as effective for
maintaining skill currency across working lives
(Raelin, 2007)
•
Practice situations are complex and constantly changing and
allows for transformation of practice
(Fowler & McGarry, 2011)
•
Praxis – focus on deliberation rather than technical work
(Connor, 2004)
•
Limited literature on work-based learning in postgraduate,
advanced skills
Step 2: Mapping of praxis course objectives
•
Aim:
–
assist students develop new mental health skills in a
particular area;
–
review professional understandings and evidence;
–
develop advanced level of capability
•
Learning Outcomes
–
Critical reflection and evaluation of own skills
–
Application of theory and evidence-based interventions
–
Interprofessional collaboration skills
Step 3: Theory-based methods and
practical strategies
Identified from Reference Group and scan of
literature
1. Deliberate Practice Theory (Ericsson, Krampe,
Tesch-Römer, 1993)
2. Pedagogical Approach for work-based
learning (Brodie & Irving, 2007)
Deliberate Practice Theory
•
Useful in analysing the learning of professionals and
promoting the acquisition of expertise
•
Identifies that the nature of the practice activities are
important - activities which are specifically designed and
structured for learning contribute most to learning
(van de Wiel, Van den Bossche, & Koopmans, 2011)
•
A number of studies have examined deliberate practice in the
workplace and concluded that key principles in workplace
learning and the development of expertise include:
–
the processes of reflecting on work experiences
–
deliberately looking for situations and tasks that may
contribute to professional development
Pedagogical Approach
•
Brodie & Irving (2007) presented approach for supporting
and assessing work-based learning within a higher
education setting
–
Developed for use within undergraduate programs, was seen as
useful to underpin development of postgraduate course
•
Following elements of student learning
–
knows what they are learning (implies change) and how to do it
effectively (approach)
–
can recognise when they have learnt (description and reflection)
–
able to identify what they have learnt (analysis and evaluation)
–
know what learning is informed by (evidence)
–
recognise what they need to learn (future learning)
Step 4: Praxis course design
•
Assessment items developed and reviewed by
Reference Group
1. Praxis learning plan
2. Observation of setting report
3. Praxis learning portfolio
Step 5: Praxis implementation plan
•
Introduced for student enrolment in semester 2,
2013 – 6 students completed praxis in their own
workplace.
•
Core requirement of the program and undertaken
in the last semester of study
•
Available in semesters 1 & 2 ongoing
•
Identified change
–
Planning process rushed due to tight semester
timeframes
–
Preparation for praxis course introduced in semester
Step 6: Praxis evaluation plan
Implementation of Mental Health
Praxis Course, Semester 2, 2013 Data Collection (semester 2, 2013): • Semi-structured interview with students (n = 4) • Semi-structured interview with mentors (n = 1) • Portfolio assessment items (n ≈ 5) *
Amendment to course delivery based on preceding findings Delivery of Mental Health Praxis
Course, Semester 1, 2014 Data Collection (semester 1, 2014): • Semi-structured interview with students (n ≈ 1) * • Semi-structured interview with mentors (n ≈ 1) * • Portfolio assessment items (n ≈ 1) *
• 6 month follow-up interview with semester 2, 2013 students (n≈3) *
Amendment to course delivery based on preceding findings Delivery of Mental Health Praxis
Course, Semester 2, 2014 Data Collection (semester 2, 2014): • Semi-structured interview with students (n ≈ 5)* • Semi-structured interview with mentors (n ≈ 2)* • Portfolio assessment items (n ≈ 5)*
Summary
Strengths
•
Clear step-by-step approach
•
Integration of stakeholder needs, theoretical
frameworks and practical applications
•
Evaluation plan – collect data to inform future
implementation and flexible to allow cyclic
integration of evaluation information
Limitations
Overall
The Intervention Mapping approach was useful
for the development of a work-based,
References
• Bartholomew, L. K., Parcel, G. S., & Kok, G. (1998). Intervention Mapping: A Process for Developing
Theory and Evidence-Based Health Education Programs. Health Education & Behavior, 25(5), 545-563.
• van Rijssen, H. J., Schellart, A. J. M., Anema, J. R., de Boer, W. E. L., & van der Beek, A. J. (2011).
Systematic development of a communication skills training course for physicians performing work disability assessments: from evidence to practice. BMC medical education, 11(1), 28-28.
• Wheeler, A., Fowler, J., & Hattingh, L. (2013). Using an Intervention Mapping Framework to Develop
an Online Mental Health Continuing Education Program for Pharmacy Staff. Journal of Continuing
Education in the Health Professions, 33(4), 258-266.
• Billett, S. (2008). Emerging Perspectives on Workplace Learning. In S. Billett, C. Harteis & A.
Eteläpelto (Eds.), Emerging Perspectives of Workplace Learning (pp. 1-12). Rotterdam: Sense.
• Billett, S. (2010). Lifelong learning and self: work, subjectivity and learning. Studies in Continuing
Education, 32(1), 1-16.
• Billett, S. (2011). Curriculum and pedagogic bases for effectively integrating practice-based
experiences. Strawberry Hills: Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
• Morris, C., & Blaney, C. (2010). Work-based Learning. In T. Swanwick (Ed.), Understanding Medical
Education: Evidence, Theory and Practice (pp. 69-82): Wiley-Blackwell.
• Smith, C. (2011). Evaluating the quality of work-integrated learning curricula: a comprehensive
References
• Raelin, J. A. (2007). Toward an Epistemology of Practice. Academy of Management Learning &
Education, 6(4), 495-519.
• Fowler, C., & McGarry, D. (2011). Praxis: The Essential Nursing Construct Evidence-Based Practice in
Nursing Informatics: Concepts and Applications (pp. 40-50).
• Connor, M. J. (2004). The practical discourse in philosophy and nursing: an exploration of linkages
and shifts in the evolution of praxis. Nursing Philosophy, 5(1), 54-66.
• Ericsson, K., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the
acquisition of expert performance. Psychological review, 100(3), 363.
• Brodie, P., & Irving, K. (2007). Assessment in work-based learning: investigating a pedagogical
approach to enhance student learning. [Article]. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 32(1), 11-19.
• van de Wiel, M., Van den Bossche, P., & Koopmans, P. (2011). Deliberate practice, the high road to
expertise: K.A. Ericsson. In F. Dochy, D. Gijbels, M. Segers & P. Van den Bossche (Eds.), Theories of
Learning for the Workplace. (pp. 1-16). Abingdon: Routledge.
• van de Wiel, M., Van den Bossche, P., Janssen, S., & Jossberger, H. (2011). Exploring deliberate
practice in medicine: how do physicians learn in the workplace? Advances in health sciences
